From FB:

 

Keb Darge

Just sent this in a private conversation with John Walker, and felt I should stick it up here so I can put the cat among the pigeons then giggle at the responses from the "pure soul" brigade. "To be honest... I listen to my Stafford sets today on various podcasts, and find them very dull compared to Wigan. Fair enough I did play a few great tunes over the years, but they were mixed in with a mass of easily forgotten drivel. We tried to prove the point that the newies of the day were soulful, and neglected the excitement of a tune. I really believe that the "it must be a black singer" attitude made the scene of the eighties and early nineties very boring... ha ha ha and I helped create that daft attitude...."

Ouch!!!

First reply:

 

 

I must admit Kev.I found Stafford boring back then.But over the years i have warmed to quite a few great sounds that were played there,and now one or two of them are my all time favs.

Kebs reply:

 

Keb Darge Oh I still love a few of them, but not nearly as many as I do from Wigan. You got one thing horribly wrong though..... IT'S NOT KEV..... IT NEVER WAS KEV !!!!!

 

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Barry

Kebs reply:

 

Keb Darge Oh I still love a few of them, but not nearly as many as I do from Wigan. You got one thing horribly wrong though..... IT'S NOT KEV..... IT NEVER WAS KEV !!!!!

dp

.

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Barry

I can see a new thread off the back of this:

 

Name your Top Five Stafford Easily Forgotten Drivel Tracks

 

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Barry

Keb Darge I can go even further in upsetting loads of people... here we go... I play mostly rockabilly and surf now because it gives me the same excitement I had when hearing the Wigan tunes first time round. It also gives that excitement to my customers. I could keep them excited by playing out and out stompers, and do plan on buying a pile in the UK next month. However I know from a thousand gigs that I would clear the floor with most of the tunes I played at Stafford. Most people in clubs respond to exciting records whether they are on a scene or not.

 

 

...and that's bang on in my opinion.

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Barry

More interesting watching Steve Eckersley getting stuck into Kev Keb, wow..

 

quote:

 

he doesnt answer my questions I pose on his youtube videos! he gets his mate to reply. He was a second wave Northern soul DJ turned funk turned what'ever happens to be popular! Decides to reinvent himself back into Northern playing Bootlegs because he was living off his past success then decided ah lets have some 50s rockabilly style beat cos the girls will dance to that! Cant fault his enthusiasm but his explanations are as contradictory as the Japanese singing Led Zeppelins Black Dog It just sounds so humerous.

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Pete S

 

From FB:

 

Keb Darge

Just sent this in a private conversation with John Walker, and felt I should stick it up here so I can put the cat among the pigeons then giggle at the responses from the "pure soul" brigade. "To be honest... I listen to my Stafford sets today on various podcasts, and find them very dull compared to Wigan. Fair enough I did play a few great tunes over the years, but they were mixed in with a mass of easily forgotten drivel. We tried to prove the point that the newies of the day were soulful, and neglected the excitement of a tune. I really believe that the "it must be a black singer" attitude made the scene of the eighties and early nineties very boring... ha ha ha and I helped create that daft attitude...."

 

wee keb the scene of the 80's & 90's was not boring it was fresh and exciting a new chapter for the soul scene if more people had stayed around then the scene of today may have had a better attitude to wards new records being played,  

Suckers!!!

More interesting watching Steve Eckersley getting stuck into Kev Keb, wow..

 

quote:

 

he doesnt answer my questions I pose on his youtube videos! he gets his mate to reply. He was a second wave Northern soul DJ turned funk turned what'ever happens to be popular! Decides to reinvent himself back into Northern playing Bootlegs because he was living off his past success then decided ah lets have some 50s rockabilly style beat cos the girls will dance to that! Cant fault his enthusiasm but his explanations are as contradictory as the Japanese singing Led Zeppelins Black Dog It just sounds so humerous.

 

Interesting but Steve's just seeing his view of Keb - subjective.

More interesting watching Steve Eckersley getting stuck into Kev Keb, wow..

 

quote:

 

he doesnt answer my questions I pose on his youtube videos! he gets his mate to reply. He was a second wave Northern soul DJ turned funk turned what'ever happens to be popular! Decides to reinvent himself back into Northern playing Bootlegs because he was living off his past success then decided ah lets have some 50s rockabilly style beat cos the girls will dance to that! Cant fault his enthusiasm but his explanations are as contradictory as the Japanese singing Led Zeppelins Black Dog It just sounds so humerous.

 

Keb Darge OOh I can't post on Soul Source. Some chap slagging me off for not answering his questions on my You Tube videos ? I don't have any You Tube videos ?? Didn't play bootlegs, and am proud to say I didn't jump on funk because it was popular... I made it popular... ha ha ha Can someone stick this on Soul Source for me please ???

Keb Darge Wooops not true I did play bootlegs at the Stafford 25 year thing

Did anyone advise Guy re the black singer 'rule'?

 

People move on and Keb's done a fair bit of that in his time and good on him.

 

Influential though he undeniably was, I'm not sure he was the only person breaking records during that period was he, or necessarily the best / most prolific for that matter? Moreover, how could what one person played and what he thinks now, some 25+ years later, be used as some sort of yardstick to compare a decade and a bit / with what went before? One fella's opinion at the end of the day and I've always respected the fact that he's always had one and never been afraid to express it (or loose the proverbial cat )

 

It's been said before on here, sh*te got played everywhere including Stafford and a good number of the things which patently weren't 'northern' in the 'traditional' sense don't stand the test of time that well because, erm, they were of their time. Some feckin unbelievable stuff got an airing too though and, exciting or not, I'd rather here Bobby Mac's shy guy than feckin rockabillly or wtf it is

 

I think I've probably bitten there

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by PhilT

At last,,  someone who doesnt genuflect at the alter of Stafford ( or Stafford, the Yawn Years as I affectionately think of it!) or its full title when I am totally pissed off with the "Stafford was perfect crowd" is Stafford, the Yawn Years, when the "Soul Elite" took the fun out of funky! :-)

some of the tunes were drivel,they became the infamous tape swappers.

 

alot of the 60's newies were white though,lol.

Suckers!!!

Got it in one

Keb Darge By the way I am talking about my own sets, not the whole of Stafford... Guy did play more great stompers than I did. I had a sort of private war going on with Soul Sam at the time so in response I tried to play more black stuff. Silly me. I also must say I loved Sam then and still do.

Romance Watson, utter drivel !!

Romance Watson, utter drivel !!

 

...and so it begins.

Keb Darge ha ha ha.. Steve Johnston. However the good records I played were spread over a 7 year period. I actually think I was better after Stafford, simply because I had a wad of money and Jim Wensiora let me have most of his newies when he sold up. Even then take any one set of mine, put it along side any Richard Searling set at Wigan, or indeed any Butch set since I packed in and you will find I win on the "which set has the most amount of drivel in it" score card. I mean my set would be the worst overall.

Keb Darge: Barry go on to some of the Keb at Stafford podcasts and you'll see what I mean. I cringe when I hear some of the stuff I played.. and I don't mean the Enchantments... that is still one of my favourites. I mean the dull soul stuff that should have stayed with the tape swappers.

 

Keb Darge: Well over the years I did get fed up with the "Stafford was much holier than Wigan" brigade slagging off Wigan and expecting me to agree. I do think that Butch now plays a better set than any of us at Stafford, but I can't say that cause it would upset a few personal friends. We may have had the attitude at Stafford but we didn't have enough great records to make it work the way we wanted it to.

Aw f*ck it I'll stick that up....

 

 

 

He did actually post that on FB after the PM I got - so I'm not stiffing him here.

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by Barry

...and so it begins.

And it ends too !!

Of course Keb is a rampant Scottish Nationalist and still has plans to have all your heads stuck on skewers just South of Hadrians Wall, so this could be the start of his trap........


Always was and always will be a hero, whether he is right or wrong, and loves an opinion, and hands up here who said that Funk Sh*t would never take off, as I sneak mines up.

Barrold, can you get me a cool drink when you have stopped doing the messages  

PS For a serious moment, and to fall into Keb's trap, I actually think with hindsight his sets were a lot better than some of us gave him credit for, Guy was always my look up to guy but when you go through these podcasts, he played some stunning records. So there Kev!

 

And some shit, but who hasn't, hands up again......

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by jocko

Is it April the 1st already - I must have slept through xmas ( again)

I liked kebs stafford sounds......not sure on the funk stuff though not into it even though Malcolm Catto is my cousin..

Perfect quote for Stafford, "Easily forgotten drivel", my exact sentiments, if you were luck 10% were good, now we never went but I've listened to cd's, podcast etc, etc & C&W springs to mind nearly. Well said Keb    

Spot.  

Stafford?! Don't know owt about it or the tunes it gave birth too really! However...I did do a Stafford Re-Union...in Stafford! It was about 98/9...and I said ok when asked to be a guest! I walked in with about 20 folk who came from Macclesfieldand surrounds! There was about 50 there when arriving and I believe Guy...or Keb was there! I haven't got the flyer for it....or can''t find it but I saw it the last time I rummaged thru' me memorobilia and will look again! Being clueless as to what the music was at Stafford meant I just did me thing! The 20 friends piled the floor...t'others followed....and we rocked the joint! Left....and that's me Stafford experience!!!x

@@
~
LUV
SOOTY
X 

Edited September 25, 201311 yr by SOOTY

Keb was always a great dancer, never a soul fan like Guy, that's why he changes scenes every 5 years. On the Northern scene he switched from 70s to 60s newies overnight. He's got some good obvious points in there though too. Each recors should be judged for its music, not where it was played.

 

 

 

He did actually post that on FB after the PM I got - so I'm not stiffing him here.

 

 

 

why dont you keep this crap on facebook

 

this sort of second hand sh*t stirring is just not wanted or needed on here

 

drop it or f*** off somewhere else